


The Cawing Morning Crow

by Kyuu333



Category: Gintama
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Multi, Nudity, implied as in they undisputedly had a foursome, implied foursome, it's offscreen b/c I can't even write porn with two people yet sorry
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-05
Updated: 2018-05-05
Packaged: 2019-05-02 17:41:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14549925
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kyuu333/pseuds/Kyuu333
Summary: Takasugi is rudely awakened in the company of his lovers and old memories flood his mind.





	The Cawing Morning Crow

The filtered rays of early sunlight weren’t what had woken Takasugi up at the break of dawn. Everything about it was soft, warm, and welcoming, as were the bedsheets and the bodies snuggled up beside him with their steady, sleeping breaths. It was all perfectly pleasant, and the rising sun only added to the nice, mild temperature that the night had brought—if he’d been wearing any article of clothing, it would’ve put him just over the edge of comfort. No, it wasn’t the light that woke him.

It was the cacophony from the murder of crows that just happened to settle directly outside their window.

Takasugi released a hefty sigh, shifting carefully as he brought his forearm up to rub across his tired eye. Of all the mornings to be so rudely disturbed. Turning his head as little as possible, he glanced over at his partners on either side. Still sound asleep, lucky them—or at least they appeared to be. The four of them had had quite a… _productive_ night. Takasugi’s body ached comfortably all over, and it felt like a soft layer of cotton lined the inside of his skull. Everything felt muffled, like in a dream. One that he would’ve _very much_ liked to return to. But the caws were grating in his ears, forcing him to stay awake.

This wasn’t the first time his morning went similarly like this, but it was the first time in a long while. It’s not like he could ever forget those nights during the war—ones that were especially cold. They would all huddle close, fall asleep in each other’s arms. Together they were warm, and their worries and restlessness would all melt away just for a night.

But in the mornings, they’d be startled awake. By the cawing of hungry crows, the smell of death all around them. Duty not only called, but tore them and their shared peace apart. And every time they woke up like that, forced to separate from each other and resume their crucial roles, Takasugi always felt a bitter pit in his stomach. Maybe that night they spent together would be their last. Maybe one of the four wouldn’t return by evening, or at all. Those thoughts haunted him always, ruining his mornings, filling his mind with doubts all day. After the war, for the past ten years and even now, he’d be jolted awake by the crows in his head.

And he’d think of them.

The socket of his left eye would ache with the memories. Those mornings, in the privacy of his own room, he’d set his burning grudge aside and allow himself to wonder. Where were his lovers now? How were they doing? Were they all still alive and well? Did they still fight for all that they believed in?

Maybe someday he wouldn’t like the answers to his questions. But this rare morning, he could tell himself with confidence that he did. As he took a slow, deep breath, long forgotten words flowed into his head, and the sound of crows seemed to fade away.

“Throughout the world I’d kill/ The cawing morning crow,/ And sleep at morn my fill/ With you, as bed-fellows.” He recited it in a low voice, like he was just rehearsing it to himself. But he’d expected to hear the shift from nearby just a moment later.

“Is that a _poem?”_

Takasugi’s lips formed a thin line and he sighed again through his nose. Gintoki’s perpetually condescending tone towards him always gave him a spike of annoyance. But it was too early, and he was too tired to start a petty argument about nothing.

“Yes,” he said flatly, his eye glued to the ceiling. Gintoki gave a huff and shook the bed with a fidget.

“That was pretentious as always,” he muttered. Fortunately for everyone, the two of them were separated by a body—otherwise, Takasugi would be strangling him right about now. Speaking of which; between them, Tatsuma stirred with a sleepy murmur.

“Where’s it from?” he yawned.

“Thought it up a long time ago,” Takasugi replied. “Ten years back.”

“I’m surprised we’ve never heard that one before,” said Katsura on his other side. He was answered with a wordless grunt. Ten years ago, Takasugi would’ve never been able to spit it out.

“Could’ve gone ten more years without hearing it,” Gintoki grumbled, clearly picking his nose like the insufferable prick he was. “Irony is, it was just as disrupting as those noisy crows out there.”

“It wasn’t bad,” Katsura countered. Takasugi could hear the “but” coming before it was even said. “But I don’t get why you would kill the crows. Sure, they’re loud, but would you kill someone just because of that? Maybe they’re screaming because one of them lost their child. Or they’re loudly declaring their love for each other. Or they’re engaged in a heated debate on the meaning of Mario’s journey of rescuing Princess Peach. Why would the game put him through so much effort, making him break his back to get through a world, only to tell him that their princess is in another castle? Why would they disappoint him like that? Is it to break his will? Or is it to make him stronger—even more determined?”

“If they were arguing about something that stupid, then yeah, I’d kill the shit out of them,” Gintoki growled, his voice laced with irritation. “But before that—like that’s even a possible scenario! What the hell makes you think they even know who Mario is?! Do crows play video games now?!”

Takasugi was already pinching the bridge of his nose about five words into that whole ordeal. God, why did his childhood friends have to be so damn annoying all the time? Not to mention embarrassingly stupid. Thankfully, Tatsuma’s loud laugh silenced their idiotic argument.

 _“I_ thought it was a nice poem,” he said, and Takasugi peered over at his big goofy smile. “It’s sweet, in a way. And it suits ya—really screams ‘Takasugi’ to me.”

“Thanks,” Takasugi said, feeling the corners of his mouth turn up just a little. At least _one_ of the three was a man of culture. Gintoki stifled a yawn.

“Edgelord’s poetry aside, what time is it?”

“Too early, I feel,” Katsura sniffed. Takasugi felt him wiggle further under the sheets, and his next words were muffled. “What time did we go to sleep?”

“Too late,” Tatsuma sighed.

“We couldn’t have slept for more than three hours,” Takasugi muttered with his eye closed as he measured his words based on his level of weariness. “...I feel like shit.” There were soft groans of agreement all around.

“Well!” Tatsuma was the one to give a cheerful huff in spite of his fatigue. He clutched the covers tightly to himself and playfully snuggled against Takasugi’s shoulder. “It ain’t like something’s stoppin’ us from goin’ back to sleep.” Gintoki scoffed, resting his forehead against the nape of Tatsuma’s neck and throwing an arm over his bare waist—Takasugi felt his fingertips brush gently against his arm.

“Please. Even if something is, I am _not_ getting up. My ass is already sore as hell.”

“Gintoki!” Katsura sounded offended. He’d moved obnoxiously close, practically breathing into Takasugi’s ear. “…My ***** and ***** are way sorer than your ass.”

Takasugi’s eye twitched, and he sharply blew the tangled mess of long hair out of his face. “If you don’t shut the hell up, I’m gonna chop both your ***** off.”

“Now, now, children,” Tatsuma huffed. “……My ***** ***** ********* is the sorest out of all of ya.” Takasugi dully kicked him in the shin and he made a sound that was something between a shriek and a laugh.

“You’re all so damn noisy,” Gintoki grouched, his words already slurring with sleepiness. “Stop talking. G’night. Wake me up…tomorrow. Evening.” Takasugi couldn’t help a snort at that. As much as he hated to agree with this guy, the idea of getting that much sleep sounded amazing. He turned his face back toward the ceiling and, staring at nothing, felt his eyelid slowly droop. His surroundings melted away, his mind and body at ease in the presence of his loved ones, reunited at last.

The crows couldn’t bother them anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> AU where the Joui 4 actually have time to interact with each other before the timeskip and they live happily ever after and nothing bad ever happens again. :)))
> 
> Anyway, this was inspired by that poem by Takasugi Shinsaku which was referenced once by Takasugi in Gintama. While the scanlation version of it is more straightforward (“I’d like to kill the crows of the universe and sleep in with you.”), I found a translation that kept a rhyme pattern like the original, so I used that version instead. (Source- Saito’s Grand Japanese-English Dictionary: Abridged Version, 1930)
> 
> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed.


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